Page 25 of Into The Rift

Tariq had gone charging back to the door to take hold of Prince Rakkur and help him to his feet, his face red with embarrassment. King Anton, who had no idea who they were, was still brandishing his weapon.

“You can stand down, Your Majesty,” I told him. “These young men are related to Prince Mikol.”

Mikol sent me a decidedly unfriendly look as I serenely sat back down beside my grandmother.

It took a little time for the shock of the sudden entrance of the two princes and all the resulting commotion and uproar to die down, but everyone soon realized there was no real threat to anyone in the large conference room. Poor Rakkur was being lectured to by his husband at the back of the room and Jago was still straightening his robe and trying to regain some of his dignity, though I think we all knew it was far too late for that.

Mikol was furious and went to the back of the room to speak to both of them, and to say he looked displeased would be understating the situation. I noticed Itaka watching the little scene with great interest and amusement. To be fair, it had been nothing more than a silly diversion, and no real harm had been done except to the young princes’ dignity. There was nothing Itaka liked better than an embarrassing scene, though, so she was quite content to sit back and watch it all unfold.

When the uproar was over and the young men had been firmly escorted from the room, Prince Mikol began his apologies. Itaka laughed and waved them away. “No, no, it was most amusing. Please don’t trouble yourself about it.”

Colonel Tariq returned and took his place again at the table, and he gave Anton and Itaka a quick bow. “Excuse the interruption, Your Majesties. My mate sends his abject apologies. He and his nephew were overly curious about this meeting. Unfortunately, rather than wait to talk to me about it, they took it on themselves to eavesdrop by the door and were surprised by one of the guards.”

“They’re beautiful young men, though. I don’t suppose either of them are for sale, by any chance?” Itaka asked.

Tariq just blinked at her a few times, as Mikol shook his head. “Uh…no. No, madam, they’re not. They’re both royal princes.”

“Too bad. Ah, well… one of them was one of those Tygerian male child bearers, wasn’t he? I’ve heard about them, and he was so pretty. He must be in high demand. The one with the dark blue hair was absolutely lovely as well. I liked him very much. I could offer a good price for that one.”

“Madam,” Prince Mikol said, more firmly this time. “Despite their strange conduct, both of them are royal princes, as I said. They’re not courtesans or love slaves.”

“Oh, I see. You mean it’s not your custom then. Well, I thought I’d just ask. It never hurts to check. You see, in my country, it is. A custom, that is. I was a royal princess of Touzia once—a younger daughter, to be sure—but that didn’t stop my father, the king, from selling me to the Pton emperor when I was ten years old. I became the youngest of his wives.”

“But I thought you were captured by the emperor,” I interrupted.

“I told you so, dear, so you wouldn’t be upset, but no, I’m afraid not. Sold to the highest bidder.”

“My grandmother has led an interesting life,” I said, “but a sheltered one in many aspects. She’s not familiar with the customs of your country. Please excuse her confusion. There was no offense intended.”

“Not at all,” the well-mannered prince replied. “None taken. But perhaps we can get back to what we were discussing before we were interrupted.”

“Oh, I think we’ll still have to wait, sir,” Itaka said.

Mikol looked confused. “I don’t understand. Why is that?”

“That young man with the yellow hair has just …I don’t know your word for it. But he’s having his babies.” Itaka glanced over at Tariq, her normally green eyes now a shining, glassy silver color. “You should probably go to him.”

Tariq looked confused. He looked over at Mikol.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Mikol said. “Go and check on him.”

Tariq took off out of the room, leaving silence in his wake. My grandmother decided to fill it. “It was the fall, of course. He began to get pains as soon as it happened, but allowed himself to be taken out because he was so embarrassed. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”

Everyone was staring at her, so I put my arm protectively around her. “Itaka ‘sees’ things sometimes. It’s nothing to be alarmed about. She’s always been this way. I’m sure what she has told you is probably true.”

Mikol got to his feet and glanced over at me. “Perhaps I-I should go and check on the situation. If you’ll excuse me. Lord Dominiko, you’ll have to go back to your cell, I’m afraid. But your grandmother is welcome to visit whenever she likes.”

I nodded and stood for the Imperial guards to take me back into custody.

“I’ll be down later to have dinner with you, Niko. We still have much to talk about. The babies won’t be born much before daylight tomorrow.”

“The…babies?” Mikol asked, looking startled as he turned to stare at Itaka. “Do you mean more than one?”

“Yes, the twins. One of them is ready to come out soon, but the other one wants to stay a bit longer. That pretty boy is in for a long night, I’m afraid.”

“No, Itaka, you must be mistaken,” King Anton said to her. “There’s only one baby. I’m sure there have been scans.”

She laughed. “If the scans didn’t show twins, then they were wrong. There are two boys. You’ll see.”

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